Chapter 194: Re-emergence of the Aura
The square-faced cultivator of the Beast Rearing Fields was just about to say something when he spotted the jade badge in Han Li's hand out of the corner of his eye, and the smile on his face instantly stiffened slightly.
The square-faced man took a hesitant glance at Han Li, then said, "Senior Martial Brother Ye, it looks like this Two-headed Griffin has already been rented by this senior martial brother. Would you like to take a look at some other spirit beasts instead?"
The dark-skinned young man's brows furrowed slightly as he turned to Han Li with a hint of befuddlement in his eyes.
He discovered that even with his spiritual sense, Han Li's aura was completely undetectable to him.
The young man took a glance at the jade badge in Han Li's hand, then directed his gaze toward the purple-haired man beside him.
The latter immediately stepped forward, cupping his fist in a salute as he said, "I don't recall ever seeing you before, Fellow Daoist. May I ask which elder you're a disciple to?"
"Who I am doesn't really concern you. I chose this Two-headed Griffin first, so I suggest you go pick out another spirit beast," Han Li replied in an indifferent voice.
He then turned to the round-faced young man, paying no further heed to the purple-haired man as he said, "I still have other matters to attend to, so undo the restriction here and release the beast."
The round-faced young man took a hesitant glance at the dark-skinned young man and his entourage, but in the end, he still did as he was told, flipping a hand over to produce that azure jade tablet.
The dark-skinned young man's expression immediately darkened slightly upon seeing this, and the purple-haired man instantly flared up with rage.
"How insolent of you! Do you know who Senior Martial Brother Ye Feng is? How dare you speak to him like this? If you know what's good for you, then you'll hand over this Two-headed Griffin right away, and we'll give you twice the rent as compensation. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
Han Li's expression remained unchanged as he released his aura, instantly causing the purple-haired man to choke on the rest of his words.
He had concealed his own aura this entire time in order to avoid attracting attention. After all, a new True Immortal was bound to catch a lot of attention, but it seemed that aura concealment wasn't always the best policy to avoid trouble.
With that in mind, Han Li took a step forward, and a burst of terrifying spiritual pressure erupted out of his body, causing the surrounding space to tremble as ripples that were visible even to the naked eye surged through the air.
The derisive sneers on the faces of the group of Body Integration cultivators instantly turned to shock and horror, and they were forced back by the burst of tremendous spiritual pressure, unable to find steady footing even after stumbling back for over 100 feet.
Yellow light flashed from the purple-haired man's body as he summoned a yellow jade scepter, which conjured up a yellow light barrier around him, but even so, he was still forced to stumble back quite a distance before finally managing to steady himself.
The only one who was able to remain unmoved by Han Li's aura was the dark-skinned young man. At his moment, arcs of silver lightning were flashing all over his body, giving him the appearance of a deity of lightning, but despite this, his face had still paled slightly.
Han Li had intentionally controlled the burst of spiritual pressure so that it didn't affect anyone aside from the dark-skinned young man and his entourage. However, the Two-headed Griffin was extremely sensitive to auras, and a look of awe and veneration instantly appeared in its eyes as it descended out of the sky before laying itself flat against the ground while trembling in fear.
Right at this moment, a hint of barely detectable elation flashed through Han Li's eyes as he turned his gaze to the dark-skinned young man.
It was very faint, but the man was carrying a hint of Daoist Xie's aura.
Han Li took a deep breath, and his expression instantly returned to normal, while the burst of immense spiritual pressure also faded.
The group of Body Integration cultivators were finally able to steady themselves, but there was more than a hint of lingering fear in their eyes.
The purple-haired man was sweating profusely while kicking himself internally.
In the past, he had always been able to pick on others thanks to his affiliation to Ye Feng, but he had really picked out the wrong target this time.
The silver lightning around the dark-skinned young man's body faded, and he was standing in silence, seemingly at a slight loss for what to do.
He was quite a powerful cultivator in his own right, but he knew his own limits, and he was aware that there was no way he could contend against a True Immortal.
A tense silence instantly descended upon the entire area, but it was soon broken by Han Li, who turned to the round-faced young man as he asked, "Who is he? I've yet to encounter such an arrogant disciple."
"He is Ye Feng, a disciple of Elder Mo Xie of the Immortal Origin Palace. He's already reached the pinnacle of the Grand Ascension Stage, and I've heard that he's planning to attempt an ascension tribulation soon, making him an extremely prominent figure among inner sect disciples," the round-faced young man explained.
"I see, no wonder you're strutting around like you own this place. You want this Two-headed Griffin, right?" Han Li asked with a casual smile.
At this point, Ye Feng had already put on a smile, and he cupped his fist in a salute as he said, "Seeing as you chose it first, it naturally belongs to you, Elder Li. Please forgive me for the rudeness that I displayed earlier."
"You cultivate lightning-attribute abilities, while this Two-headed Griffin possesses quite a powerful lightning bloodline, so it's no wonder that you want it. Even though I'm an elder, I'm not one to pick on those below me. How about this? I'll stand here and take one of your attacks without using any treasures. If you can make me move even a single step from this spot, then I'll concede this Two-headed Griffin to you. What do you say?" Han Li proposed with a smile.
Ye Feng faltered slightly upon hearing this, unsure of why Han Li was suddenly extending this olive branch.
However, he quickly came to the realization that it had to have been because the round-faced young man had just informed Han Li that he was a disciple to Elder Mo Xie.
Elder Mo Xie was extremely renowned among the inner sect disciples, having already reached the late-True Immortal Stage and was overseeing the Immortal Origin Palace. The fact that Han Li was an attendant elder indicated that he was most likely an itinerant immortal who had only just joined the sect, so he had no backers to rely on, and it stood to reason that he didn't dare to cause any offense to Elder Mo Xie.
With that in mind, Ye Feng's confidence was instantly restored, and a warm smile appeared on his face as he cupped his fist in a salute toward Han Li.
"It would be rude of me to turn down such a kind offer, so please pardon me, Elder Li."
He had absolute confidence in his own offensive prowess, even in the face of a True Immortal.
Everyone else immediately backed away upon hearing this exchange, creating a large, open area for the two combatants.
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release several dozen streaks of yellow light, which landed in the surrounding area to form a massive semi-transparent yellow light barrier around himself and Ye Feng.
Immediately thereafter, Ye Feng let loose a long roar while making a hand seal, and thick bolts of silver lightning surfaced over his body amid a string of rumbling thunderclaps.
In the next instant, he opened his mouth, and a thumb-sized silver bead flew out of his mouth. Despite its small size, the bead was giving off astonishing spiritual power fluctuations and flashing with silver lightning as it hovered above his head.
He then raised his hands up into the air, and all of the silver lightning flashing over his body converged toward the bead, causing it to revolve rapidly as it conjured up a giant ball of silver lightning that was over 1,000 feet in size.
The ball of lightning resembled a dazzling silver sun and was giving off extremely formidable lightning pressure.
Even through the yellow light barrier, the purple-haired man and the others were still struck by the terrifying pressure emanating from the ball of lightning, causing them to retreat a few steps further with awestruck looks on their faces.
The Two-headed Griffin was separated from Han Li and Ye Feng by two light barriers, but even so, it had begun snarling with unease.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but his heart stirred slightly at the sight of the silver ball of lightning.
All of a sudden, countless arcs of silver lightning began flashing over his body as well, and they weren't as bright as the silver lightning released by Ye Feng, but they were extremely fast and agile, resembling countless spirit snakes that were springing in all directions.
Immediately thereafter, countless arcs of purple lightning that were giving off a wild and violent aura also appeared over Han Li's body.
The auras emanating from the silver and purple lightnings were completely different, clearly indicating that they were two different types of lightning, yet they were intertwining with one another in an extremely harmonious fashion. Not only were they not rejecting one another in the slightest, they were displaying signs of fusing into one.
Rings of silver and purple lightning proliferated in all directions from Han Li's body, presenting a formidable sight to behold.
Ye Feng's expression instantly changed slightly upon hearing this. He hadn't anticipated that Han Li would also be adept at wielding the power of lightning, and it seemed that Han Li's lightning manipulation was more masterful than his own.
His heart sank slightly as a dark look appeared on his face, and he let loose a loud roar as another layer of silver lightning appeared over his body before surging into the ball of lightning above his head, causing it to expand even further in size.
Immediately thereafter, Ye Feng swung his arms through the air in a hurling motion, sending the massive ball of silver lightning hurtling directly toward Han Li.
The giant ball of lightning reached Han Li in the blink of an eye, crashing down with devastating force like a meteorite, sending powerful shockwaves surging through the air.
Han Li's expression remained calm and collected as he made a grabbing motion with his left hand.
The silver and purple lightning around his body converged toward his arm, forming a huge lightning sword that was over 1,000 feet in length. Countless tiny silver and purple lightning runes then appeared over the surface of the blade, pulsing and flashing incessantly.
With a swing of his arm, the lightning sword was slashed through the air to clash against the ball of lightning amid an earth-shattering boom.
The two opposing bodies of lightning intertwined to send devastating shockwaves sweeping through the surrounding area, only to be contained by the yellow light barrier.
An impasse immediately ensued, and it seemed that the lightning sword and the ball of lightning were evenly matched.
Ye Feng shuddered in the face of the violent impact, and only after stumbling back a few steps was he able to steady himself.
Meanwhile, Han Li's right hand was still clasped behind his back, and he was looking as relaxed as ever.
Ye Feng's expression darkened even further upon seeing this, and he made a rapid series of hand seals before opening his mouth to release a burst of liquid-like silver light that vanished into the ball of lightning in a flash.
The giant ball of lightning churned violently as it glowed with scintillating radiance, and around a dozen enormous silver lightning runes flew out from within.
Every single one of those lightning runes was roughly the size of a millstone, and they were giving off faint law fluctuations as they hurtled directly toward the giant lightning sword.
With each rune that struck the lightning sword, the latter would shudder violently, and the light radiating from its surface would dim a little.
After being struck by the dozen or so lightning runes in succession, the massive lightning sword had dimmed significantly, but Han Li paid no heed to this. Instead, he was staring at the silver ball of lightning in an absentminded manner.